Every night before bedtime when we were small, my sister and I said our “God blesses” with our parents close by. “I see the moon and the moon sees me,” we’d begin together, “God bless the moon and God bless me.” Then we’d leave the moon for still more distant lights: “I see the stars and the stars see me, God bless the stars and God bless me.”
Our “God blesses” started big (the heavens!) then got sweetly small as one by one we’d name every member of our extended family – grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins – and ask God to bless them, too. It was the surest liturgy of my childhood, and I can’t remember more than a handful of nights that it was missed.
I’ve heard of people keeping their money in a mattress. One of my grandmothers had a mayonnaise jar full of cash in her top dresser drawer. But I saw the oddest “banking” arrangement the other day that I’ve seen in a long time.
Stopped at a stoplight on a busy city street, I saw a shabbily-dressed, dirty guy reach into a hedge at McDonald’s®, pull out a blue plastic cup, and remove from it a wad of one dollar bills. He counted the bills (there were four) and replaced the cup in the same spot in the hedge.
As the light changed and I drove on, I tried to imagine how the “system” worked. Did other people know about the blue cup-bank, or was it this man’s own private account? Did he make deposits, and then return later for withdrawals – or did someone else keep the kitty filled? Was it a common pool? Did other folks know about it? Was it a give-what-you-can, take-what-you-need arrangement?